Ventilating and air treating



Oct. 27,1936. H. E. CAMPBELL VENTILATING AND AIR TREATING APPARATUS Filed June 8, 1933 12a ATTORN 1 Patented Oct. 27, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE,

vnn'rnn'rmc AND AIR TREATING APPARATUS Harry E. Campbell, Baltimore, Md., assignor to Campbell Metal Window Corporation, New York, N. 1.. a corporation of Maryland Application June 8, 1933, Serial No. 674,798

9 Claims.

therein by passing it over a heat exchanger or cooling element through which a cooling fluid,

is passed. In the normal operation of such ap-. paratus the air passing over the heat exchanger is cooled to a temperature substantially below the average room air temperature and ordinarily appreciably below the dew point temperature of the room air. In consequence, in normal operation water is continuously being condensed out of the air passing over the air cooling element and tends to collect on and drip from said element.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide simple and eflectiv'e means for use in apparatus of the character described to collect a and dispose of the water condensed out of the air passing over the air cooling element. More specifically, the object of the invention is to provide means for collecting and disposing of the are so formed and disposed as to facilitate their use in a room ventilating and air treating unit which is necessarily made as compact as is practically possible in order that the space occupied by the apparatus may be minimized, and in particular that the extent to which such apparatus extends away from the room wall immediately adjacent which it .is ordinarily located may be kept as small as is practically possible.

A Still more specific object of the invention 35 is .to provide the casing, or a delivery conduit extension of the casing of the fan employed to force air over the cooling device with simple and effective means for collecting the condensate drip from the cooling device and discharging it 40 through a suitable waste pipe or pipes. My invention also comprises features of construction and arrangement desirably employed in some cases whereby the means employed to collect and dispose of the condensate dripping from the 45 air cooling device are also employed to dispose of -drip from other portions of the air treating apparatus, and particularly from an airhumidifler employed to increase the humidity of the room atmosphere.

The various features of novelty which characterize the present invention are pointed out 'with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this specification. For a better understanding of the invention, however, its ad- 55 vantages and specific objects obtained with its condensate from the air cooling element which use reference should be had to the accompanying drawing and descriptive matter in which I have illustrated and describeda preferred embodiment of theinvention.

Of the drawing: 5 Fig. i is a section on the line |-l of Fig. 2 of a portion of a ventilating and air treating unit; and

Fig. 2' is asection on the broken line 2-2 of Fig. 1. 10 The ventilating and air treating unit shown in part in the drawing comprises a casing or housing I formed with a compartment 2 containing a. motor 3 driving a fan or blower 4 which rotates in a casing 5 having an inlet 5 15 through which the air enters from the space 2. The latter receives room air at its bottom through casing inlet openings 1 and 8. The fan discharges air into an upwardly directed discharge passage 9, the upper portion of which is horizontally 2o enlarged to receive a cooling element or device ill over, or through passages in which, the air moves to an outlet in the top wall of the casing l in which, as shown, a louver member II is mounted. 2 X In the form of the invention shown in the drawing, the portion of the fan delivery passage beneath the cooling device ill has opposed side walls, one of which is formed by a lower curved plate I! and an upper inclined plate portion IS. The curved plate portion i2 extends over the space 5' which may be regarded as the delivery outlet of the fan casing proper. The plate portion I3 is inclined reversely relative to' the general direction of the plate portion l2, and, as shown, extends downwardly across the upper ,portion of the plate portion H, the lower edge of the plate portion 13 being below the upper edge of the plate l2. The side wall of, the portion of the fan delivery passage opposite the 40 plate portions I2 and I3 is formed by a plate portion l4 longer than the plate portion [3 and oppositely inclined. The lower edge of the plate portion It extends across the vertical plane touched by the lower edge of the plate portion I3 and is sufliciently below the lower edge of the plate portio'n It to provide an air flow passage of ample cross-section between the lower edge of the plate 13 and the adjacent part of the plate portion Hi. The upper edges of the inclined plate portions l3 and I4 extend away from one another beyond the corresponding sides of the cooling device, and the inclined or end edges of the plate portions l3 and I! extend beyond the ends of the cooling device. In consequence, the plate receive all the condensate drip from the cooling device. v

The lower edge or the plate I3 is upturned to form a gutter I3 receiving the water dripping onto and running down the plate portion l3, and the end edges of the plate portion l3 are advantageously upturned to form flanges l3" preventing any flow of water over the end edges of the plate. Similarly the plate I4 is upturned at its lower edge to provide a gutter l4 and has its-end edges upturned to i'orm flanges l4" preventing water flow over the end edges of the plate. Suitable drain pipe connections are made to carry away the water passing to the gutters I3 and I4. As shown, those connections include separate drain pipe branches l5 and 6 leading from the gutters l3 and I6, respectively, to a common drain pipe ll.

While the means described for collecting and disposing of condensate from the cooling device may be used with a cooling device varying widely in type and form, it is to be noted that for the particular room ventilating and air treating purposes for which the invention was primarily devised, the cooling device employed should ordinarily be of a high capacity type, so that an adequate air cooling eiIect may be secured with a compact cooling device of small bulk. The particular cooling device ||l shown is of such type, and is characterized by a provision of vertical air flow passages through it which makes it unnecessary to provide the air passage 9, in which the cooling device is located, with end walls, 1. e., with walls transverse to the inclined plate portions 3 and H, though the latter may well have integral vertical upper extensions, each closely adjacent the corresponding side of the cooling device.

The cooling device shown in the drawing comprises a pipe l6 receiving refrigerant fluid from an expansion valve l9 and comprising a multiplicity of straight horizontal side by side sections connected by horizontal return bend portions 20 and by vertical return bend portions 2|. In the particular form and size of the cooling device In shown, the side by side straight pipe portions are arranged in three superposed rows .with four straight sections in each row, the

straight sections in each row being connected in pairs for series flow therethrough by horizontal return bends 26. The straight pipe section at one end of the middle row is connected by a vertical return bend 2| to the straight pipe section immediately beneath it, and the straight pipe section at the opposite end of the middle row is connected by another vertical return bend 2| to the straight pipe section immediately above it. The straight section in the upper row which forms the outlet end portion of the pipe I8 is connected to the refrigerant return pipe 22. Each of the said straight sections of the pipe l8 passes through and is secured to a set of parallel spaced apart thin fin plates 23. Advantageously the latter are rectangular in outline, and the plates on adjacent side by side pipe sections are placed edge to edge with their adjacent edges separated by a short distance only. The plates 23 are advantageously welded or brazed in place on the pipe l8 and like the latter are preferably formed of good heat conducting metal such as copper.. With this described disposition, the plates provide a multiplicity oi narrow air passages or flues extending transversely of the cooling device l0 and from the top to the bottom 01' the latter.

The refrigerating machinery receiving refrigerant fluid through the pipe 22 and supplying reiriger'ant fluid to the expansion valve I8 is not shown, as its form and disposition have nothing to do with the present invention. The expansion valve l8 may well be automatically controlled by the temperature oi. the fluid in the pipe 22 as by means including an expansion fluid thermostatic bulb I! in good heat conducting relation with the pipe 22.

As previously mentioned, the provisions made for collecting condensate and passing the latter to waste or drainage may also be used in collecting and disposing other water drip or waste occurring in the chamber 2, and, as shown in the drawing, water drip from air humidifying means located in the space 2 is collected on a battle or drain member 24 inclined to discharge the water onto the inclined plate portion l3. The water so discharged passes with the water dripping down from the cooling device ID to the gutter l3, and thence to waste through the drainage pipes l5 and 1. v

Various forms of humidifiers suitable for use in the compartment or space 2 give rise to water drip which may well be disposed of by passing it onto one or the other of the inclined plate portions 3 and H. The particular humidifier shown in the drawing comprises an evaporative element 25 mounted on a vertical steam pipe 26 and uniting with the latter to form-a vertically elongated annular water space surrounding the pipe 26 and of small horizontal cross-section. Said space re-.

' the annular water space 21 opens into a steam and water separating chamber 3| which has an outlet 32 through which vapor is discharged, and through which water passing out of the chamber 3| drips onto the bailie or drain member 24. The humidifying means described are devised and intended to boil the water in the space 21 whenever there is a substantial flow of steam at a temperature somewhat above 212 through the pipe 26, as will be the case when the pipe 26 forms part of an ordinary pressure steam heating systeiafm operating to produce a substantial heating e ect.

As shown the pipe 26 is employed to supply steam to a radiator including the previously mentioned fln plates 23 associated with the upper row of straight sections of the cooling fluid pipe I8, and including side by side straight portions of the pipe 26. Each 01' the said straight portions of the pipe 26 is located directly above and closely adjacent to the straight section of the pipe l8 passing through the same set of fln plates 23, the latter being similarly connected to the pipes l6 and 26. The said straight sections oi. the pipe 26 are connected for series flow of the steam between the vertical portion of the pipe associated with the humidifier, and the radiator return pipe 33 by horizontal return bends 34. The flow of steam through the pipe 26 is controlled by a'regulating valve 36 which advantageously is adjusted in response to room air temperature conditions by a thermostatic regulator 36 of the usual form. As will be readily understood by those skilled in the art, under normal conditions oi operation,

' in a casing enclosing room ventilating and air treating apparatus wherein compactness is a matter of importance. Although in the particular construction illustrated in which the fan is directly beneath the cooling device the passage 9 for the flow of air from the outlet space 5' of the fan casing proper is necessarily tortuous to provide a water receiver collectively formed by the inclined plates l3 and H which underlies the cooling device I in its entirety and which extends over the said outlet space the general shape and disposition of said passage is such as to impose relatively little resistance to air flow through it. The passage 9, moreover, has its upper portion between the opposed portions of the inclined plates of expandingiorm as is desirable to properly distribute the uprising air to 'all portions of the under side of the cooling device.

It will be apparent that if the gutter l3 were I omitted, the water deposited on the plate or wall portion l3 would drop onto the plate l4 and pass to the gutter H for removal by the drain pipe 16. However, the provision of the separate gutters l3 and H with their separate drains l5 and I6 desirably reduces the amount of water which must be collected and discharged by a single gutter and drain pipe connection thereto, and also avoids the tendency to entrainment of water by the air moving through the passage 9 which would exist if the gutter l3 were omitted and the, water received on the plate l3 dropped down into the portion of the air passage between the lower edge of the member l3 and the adjacent portion of the member ll.

No claim is made herein on the humidifying means illustrated and described as that means, of itself, forms no part of the present invention, but does form the subject matter of my 'copending application, Serial No. 674,797, filed of even date herewith, wherein such means are disclosed in detail and claimed. Certain features of the ventilating and air treating unit shown in the drawing hereof and not previously referred to need not be described herein as they form no part of the present invention, and have no direct or immediate bearing on the use of the latter.

While in accordance with the provisions of the statutes, I have illustrated and described herein the best form of embodiment of my invention now known to me, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that changes may be made in the form of the apparatus disclosed without departing from the spirit of my invention as set forth in the appended claims and that in some cases certain features of my invention may be used to advantage without a corresponding use of other features.

Having now described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In ventilating and air treating apparatus, an air cooling device, a fan beneath said device for moving air upwardly into contact with said device, air directing means interposed between said fan and device comprising opposed downwardly inclined members extending under said device from its opposite sides into overlapping relation and spaced apart to provide an air passage between their superposed portions comprising an upper expanding nozzle portion reducing the velocity of and horizontally distributing the, air

entering said device, and means for collecting and removing water deposited on said members.

2. In ventilating and air treating apparatus,-

an air cooling device, a fan beneath said device for moving air upwardly into contact with said device, air directing means interposed between said fan and device comprising opposed downwardly inclined members extending under said Y device from its opposite sides into overlapping relation and spaced apart to provide an air passage between their superposed portions comprising an upper expanding nozzle portion reducing the velocity of and horizontally distributing the air entering said device, means for collecting and removing water-deposited on said members; and other air treating means discharging water and provisions for passing such water to said means.

3. In apparatus of the character described, the combination'with a cooling device, of a ran beneath said device, and walls defining a tortuous flow passage for air passing from said fan to said device comprising an upper expanding nozzle portion reducing the velocity of and horizontally distributing the air entering said device, said wall including portions collectively underlying said device in'its entirety, and means associated with said passage for removing water dripping on said portions from said device.

4. In apparatus of the character described, the

neath said device and comprising a casing with an upwardly directed delivery outlet directly beneath a side portion only of said device, and means for guiding the air fiow from said outlet to said device and for disposing ofwater dripping from the latter comprising opposing walls one of which includes an upper downwardly inclined portion underlying the said side portion thereof, and a lower reversely extending portion overlying said outlet, and the other of said walls including a downwardly inclined portion underlying the portion of said device not underlaid by the first mentioned inclined portion, and extending beneath and spaced away from the inner end of said lower portion, and means for collecting and removing water deposited on said inclined wall portions.

5. Ventilating and air treating apparatus comprising in combination, a casing enclosing a compartment with an air inlet and an air outlet, the latter opening from the upper portion of the compartment, an air cooling device in said compartment adjacent said outlet, a fan beneath said device for moving air from said inlet into contact fiow with said cooling device and thence to said outlet, and opposed walls defining a tortuous air fiow passage between said fan and device comprising an upper expanding nozzle portion reducing the velocity of and horizontally distributing the air entering said device, spaced apart portions of said walls collectively forming a water receiver underlying said device and receiving the condensate dripping therefrom, and means for relet. and opposed walls denning a tortuous air iiow 7 partment with an air inlet and an air outlet, the latter opening from the upper portion of the compartment, a device in said compartment adjacent said outlet optionally usable to heat or to cool the air passing through said compartment, a fan beneath said device for moving air from said inlet into contact with said cooling device and thence to said outlet, and opposed walls defining a tortuous air flow passage between said tan and device, spaced apart portions of said walls collectively forming a water receiver underlying said device and receiving the condensate dripping therefrom, means for removing water received by said receiver, a humidifier in said compartment, and means for passing water'escaping from said humidifier onto said water receiver.

8. In ventilating and air treating apparatus, an air cooling device, means providing for the positive flow of air upwardly through and into heat exchange relation with said cooling device, said means comprising opposed downwardly inclined members extending underneath said device from its opposite sides into overlapping relation and spaced apart to provide an air. e between their superposed portions said means also comprising a fan for effecting a flow of air upwardly through said air passage, the upper and opposed portions 01' said members providing an upper expanding nozzle portion for the air passage so as to reduce the velocity and horizontally distribute the air entering said cooling device, and means for collecting and removing water deposited on said members.

9. In ventilating and air treating apparatus, an air cooling device, means providing for the positive flow of air upwardly through and into heat exchange relation with said cooling device, said means comprising opposed downwardly inclined members extending underneath said device from its opposite sides into overlapping relation and spaced apart to provide an air passage between their superposed portions said means also comprising a fan for eflecting a flow of air upwardly through said passage, the upper and opposed portions of said members providing an upper expanding nozzle portion for the air passage so as to reduce the velocity and horizontally distribute the air entering said cooling device, and trough means provided along the lower edge of each of said members for collecting condensate deposited on said members from said device, and conduit means for removing the condensate from each of the trough means of each of the members.

HARRY E. CAMPBELL. 

